1. Field of Invention
This invention is directed to a graphical user interface for an image capture device or an image forming device.
2. Description of Related Art
Scanners and other types of image capture devices, and digital copiers and other image forming devices, have become ubiquitous office productivity tools for generating electronic images of physical original documents or generating physical copies of electronic images. Once an electronic image has been generated, either from scratch or from a physical original document, the electronic image data can be used in an infinite variety of ways to increase the productivity and the product quality of an office. Such image capture devices include desktop scanners, other stand alone scanners, digital still cameras, digital video cameras, the scanning input portions of digital copiers, facsimile machines and other multi-function devices that are capable of generating electronic image data from an original document, and the like. These image capture devices can also include image databases that store previously captured electronic image data. Such image forming devices include digital copiers, laser printers, ink jet printers, color ink jet printers, and the like.
However, as the costs of these various image capture devices and image forming device have dropped and the output quality of the physical copies and the captured electronic image data has improved, these image capture devices and image forming devices have been provided with an ever increasing number of controllable features. Similarly, as users have become comfortable with capturing and using electronic image data obtained from original documents to create physical copies, the uses to which the electronic image data has been put, and thus the needed control over the quality and appearance of the electronic image data and the physical copies, have expanded greatly.
The ever-increasing numbers of features provided by these various image capturing devices and image forming devices cause users of these devices to find it increasingly difficult to obtain the desired results. Often, this is because, instead of having a control panel that has physical control elements, these devices often are controlled primarily through a graphical user interface. This graphical user interface can be accessed through a display and selection panel of the device. More often, however, the graphical user interfaces are accessed through a general purpose computer having a display device and one or more input devices.
While even unsophisticated users of these devices find it easy and intuitive to use the physical control elements on the control panel to control complex functions of even complex devices that have such a control panel, even users familiar with the various common widgets of graphical user interfaces find it difficult and non-intuitive to use these graphical user interface widgets to control even simple functions of these devices.
This invention thus provides systems, methods and graphical user interfaces that mimic the control elements of a control panel of an image forming or capture device.
In various exemplary embodiments of the systems, methods, and graphical user interfaces according to this invention, a graphical user interface widget includes a vertically-oriented slider portion. The slider portion includes a slider pointer that indicates a current value of the slider and a slider bar that indicates the default value of the slider. The bottom and top edges of the slider portion are labeled with the extreme values of the range for the variable associated with the slider portion. In particular, the slider pointer divides the slider portion into two subportions. An appearance of a bottom subportion of the slider portion is altered to reflect the value currently indicated by the slider pointer relative to the extreme values of the range represented by the slider.
Additionally, in some exemplary embodiments, a numerical portion is provided along with the slider portion. The numeral portion includes a value display portion and a pair of buttons that are used to increase or decrease the numerical value in the value display portion. When the value display portion is provided, the number in the value display portion is linked to the slider pointer, such that changing the slider pointer causes the number displayed in the value display portion to change accordingly. Similarly, changing the number in the value display portion causes a corresponding change in the position of the slider pointer relative to the slider portion.
These and other features and advantages of this invention are described in or are apparent from the following detailed description of various embodiments of the systems, methods and graphical user interfaces according to this invention.